WEST VALLEY CITY, Utah — A preliminary hearing began Wednesday for the man charged in the deaths of three special needs adults left inside a running van in a garage for nearly four hours.
Isaiah Pulu faces three murder charges after the men died of carbon monoxide poisoning on Feb. 6 while he was allegedly inside his apartment eating and watching television. Pulu was working for a now-defunct adult care company for disabled adults when he allegedly left the victims alone.
During the hearing, prosecutors brought in West Valley City Police Department Det. Natalie Johansen to review body camera footage from when police first arrived at the scene. Johansen also described that Pulu was the one who called 911 around 1:55 p.m. on the day the men were found.
According to Johansen, Pulu was tasked with taking the three victims, 25-year-old
Colton Moser, 22-year-old Mosa’ati Moa, and 39-year-old Tim Jones, on an outing, but he claimed one was dysregulated.
"Did he indicate at any point to you that between 9:09 and 1:30 that he went to go check on the men?" asked a prosecutor. "He did not, he did not go and check on them," Johansen replied.
"He received a call from a co-worker asking where he was, and that's when he went to check on them and found them unresponsive," Johansen continued.
Johansen told the court she believed that Pulu left the men in the van with the windows down and the heat on. But when police arrived, the detective said the van wasn't running because the carbon monoxide shut down the engine.
During the hearing, Pulu's defense team questioned Johnansen about the decision to charge him with manslaughter at first, which was later changed to murder charges. The detective responded that at the time of the incident, they believed the charges were most applicable.
Although the hearing started Wednesday, it was continued until August 13 after the defense asked the court for more time to prepare.
